A man was rescued alive from a cave this week after being trapped nearly 27 hours following a rockslide.
Speleologist Luca Olmetto, 31, was exploring the Gorropeddu cave on the Italian island of Sardinia with his girlfriend on Oct. 11 at 2:30 p.m. when it collapsed, completely blocking its entrance.
His partner, who was feet behind him in the cave, located in the province of Nuoro, was able to escape and get help.
Working through the night and into the following evening, a rescue team of around 100 — 48 from Sardinia’s Alpine and Speleological Rescue Corps and 30 firefighters, coupled with civil protection staff –worked to free Olmetto.
The rescuers feared heavy movement would trigger another rockslide, so they carefully removed the debris by hand, said Il Giornale d’Italia, an Italian online newspaper.
On Oct. 12, just before 6 p.m., they finally managed to reach Olmetto, who was trapped over 32 feet deep for just under 27 hours, and was conscious throughout the rescue efforts.
“He held on until the end,” Salvatore Corrao, commander of the Nuoro fire department, told L’Unione Sarda, Sardinia’s newspaper.
“He was great. He encouraged us,” added Manuela Mulargia of the National Alpine and Speleological Rescue Corps.
Olmetto, of Codrongianos, a small town in the province of Sassari in northern Sardinia, was flown by helicopter to the hospital and was placed in intensive care after the accident, the paper said on Tuesday.
“The patient is under strict clinical monitoring in intensive care,” according to a statement released by the Barbagia Local Health Authority. “He has no fractures, but he has sustained severe blunt trauma, a crushing injury, to a lower limb.”
Olmetto’s town of Codrongianos expressed its joy over the news of his release on its Facebook page.
“After hours of great anxiety, the news that the entire Codrongianos was waiting for has finally arrived: Luca is out of the cave! Our fellow citizen, after being assisted in a tent, serene and calm, is now on board the ambulance,” it said.
“It has been a difficult hour, during which the entire community has been on edge following the rescue operations.”
Codrongianos also thanked the rescuers who “worked tirelessly to reach him.”
“Now Codrongianos can finally breathe a sigh of relief,” the town said.
“Luca and his family deserve a hug from our entire community.”
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